Crimson Nights
by Bryce Gallows
Summary: People who visit an ancient castle begin disappearing, so a hunter comes in to check things out.


The full moon shines brightly over a small town wrapped in the blanket of darkness. It is a quaint town, with brick buildings that just overshadow the tree tops of the forest that surround them. Carefully made cobble-stone roads lay upon the ground to allow easy passage about the town. The street lamps have been doused as no one comes out at these late hours of the night. Peace and tranquility fill the chill autumn air. The town appears almost too peaceful.

Such an illusion of tranquility is necessary for what lay south of the little town. An ancient castle placed upon a rocky cliff overlooks the town and the river that acts as a border between the two. The ancient castle was built during the crusades, and as such, is enriched with treasures of other lands and history. Historians and thieves alike have ventured into the castle, searching for riches that are held within. Though many have entered, none have ever returned from the castle. Such a mystery caused rumors to spread throughout the town. The thought of a monster calling the castle its home became a widely believed tale.

Despite the rumor being created to drive people away, it only enticed more to venture into the castle. More and more began to disappear and the rumor only grew.

On this night, three teenagers from the village dare to be brave and enter the these dangerous dwellings. The three teenage boys are generally bland in appearance, with no striking features worth mentioning. They creep, huddled together, through the large, gray stoned corridors of this keep. The walls have tattered banners of defeated castles hanging as trophies. Portraits of previous lords of the castle hang at equal height along the walls. The stoned floor is covered by a single red rug that stretches on endlessly into the dark. The torch gripped in the lead boy's hands act as their only source of light.

They move slowly, not making a sound as they step in order to not call attention to the monster that lives in this place. As they reach the end of the corridor, the see something laying upon the floor on the sides of the door. As the fire from the torch shines upon these objects, the boys nearly scream out in fright. Upon the ground lay a mixture of bones from various people; victims of the beast of the castle. With shaky legs, the boys converse with one another as to whether to press onward or not. Making it this far already, they decide it would be pointless to go back empty handed. With quaking fingers, the lead boy grips the door and pulls it slowly. The old hinges creak loudly that echoes down the stone corridor in an amplifying sound.

Fear grips the boys; they charge into the next room and slam the door shut behind them. Turning to see what lays in this room, their fear quickly turns into amazement. They have made their way into the throne room. A beautifully decorated room with treasure laying about everywhere. The boys scatter throughout the room to fill their pockets with as much gold coin as they can. One of the boys, without a torch, sees something in the dark corner of the room as he lines his pants with gold. Two red orbs glow within the black veil of darkness. Curiosity grips the boy as he steps closer, allowing the weak night vision of his human eyes to see the what these orbs were. What he finds petrifies him in fear.

It is a monster in human flesh; a handsome older male with skin as pale as the moon outside. Eyes that glow a soft red in the night. Black hair slicked back and hangs down to his back tied in a pony-tail. A wicked smile shows off four large fangs that are stained with blood. With a dark red cloak wrapped around his body, he conceals the razor sharp claws he uses to slay his victims before devouring them. He is a beast of fable, told only in story and never thought to exist. A creature that calls the night his home and humans his sustenance. The ultimate predator that disguises itself as its prey; vampire.

The vampire's claws slip out from its cloak, gripping the boy by the throat before he can scream. Blood oozes out onto his fingers as he tightens his grip upon the boy until the neck snaps. Then, the vampire sinks his fangs into the boys throat. As quietly as possible, he sucks out the boys blood. The pierced arteries allows blood to be pumped into the vampire's mouth as he takes large gulps of the sweet, warm liquid. Once the blood supply dwindles, he simply throws the corpse aside. He rises to his feet and walks over to the other boys who have gathered enough gold to satisfy them. It is not long before the boys realize the figure approaching them is not their companion. Concluding it is the beast, the boys abandon their friend to save their own skin. Like a lion chasing a mouse, the vampire catches the boys with ease. There is no screams, no fight, nothing, but silence. The only sound that can be heard is the drinking sound as the vampire enjoys his feast for the evening. Upon this night, three more victims become part of the castle's history.

The next morning the sun shines high in the perfect blue sky. To the north of the town comes a horse drawn carriage belonging to a merchant. The town ahead is one of his many stops to sell his goods. With the merchant are two travelers that he had happened to come across.

The first is a traveling priest. He is quite young for being a priest, only in his early thirties. The young priest is dressed in white traveling styled robes that are cut on either side of his legs to allow him better movement; with white pants underneath to keep his flesh safe from the elements. Wrapped around his waist is a rope belt that is tied in a bow at his side. A large metal cross hangs from his neck to signify his faith in the lord. Long brown hair hangs long, well groomed, just above his shoulders. Circular spectacles that lay part way down his nose cover up his sapphire blue eyes. He sits there silent as he thumbs through his bible.

The other seems to be some sort of traveler; younger than the priest, being no more than in his mid twenties. He wears a white buttoned down shirt with several buttons unfastened. Black pants and black boots cover his lower half of his body. He wears a heavy, black trench coast that has many pockets filled with secrets to his purpose. He is an unusual looking individual with spiky, navy blue hair that lays past his shoulders. In his black gloved hands is a small dagger and a sharpening stone.

"So, Father," the young man asks, "For someone who is suppose to know the ins and outs of God, why do you read the scriptures?"

"The same reason for what you are doing," the priest jokes, "I wish to stay sharp."

"Quite clever," the young man laughs. "So what brings you to this town?"

"There have been rumors," the priest mentions, "That an evil spirit has been lurking in a castle south of the town up ahead. The Vatican sent me to check it out and possibly purge the castle of this evil. And what, pray tell, brings you?'

The young man says only one word, "Hunting."

The carriage stops with their conversation, as they have arrived at the town. They disembark from the carriage, where they are greeted by a group of people. They are an assortment of villagers that have gathered to meet the priest. At the head of the group is the village leader, an elderly man with a bushy beard and balding brown hair. He steps forward with wide open arms.

"Welcome, welcome Father Théoden," the village leader says warmly. "We have made accommodations for you to stay at the church."

"Thank you for your hospitality," the priest thanks. "Tonight I will venture into the castle and purge it of this evil spirit."

The group cheers loudly, leading the priest to the church, leaving the young man alone on the road. With a shrug of his shoulders, the young man heads into the small pub down the road. It is completely empty, due to the people gathering for the priest. The young man strolls up to the bar and takes a seat. On the other side is a beautiful young lady wearing a tight French maid outfit that features all of her curves. Her golden locks are tied in two cute pig tails with red ribbons. She glances at her customer with her sparkling blue eyes.

"Excuse me, miss," the young man asks politely, "Can I get a pint of ale and a rare steak."

"Yes, sir," she squeaks with delight. "You're not from around here, did you just come in?"

"Yes," the young man says, "My name is Bryce Hawthorne." "Mine is Alana Saint," she says warmly. "What brings you to our little town?"

"Well, I wanted to check out the castle you have," Bryce says with a grin. She pauses upon hearing this, before handing him his food. Bryce licks his lips as he chomps down upon his food. The blood of the bovine leaks out from the meat and slides down his neck. Taking his glove off, Bryce catches the falling blood upon his fingers. Sinisterly, he rolls his tongue across his finger, soaking up the blood in his taste buds. Bryce sees the appalled look on Alana's face and stops himself.

"Sorry about that," Bryce chokes, "It's a bad habit I've been doing lately."

After a moment to let the atmosphere return to normalcy, Alana says, "You have heard of the tales surrounding that castle? Many have gone into that castle, but none have ever come out. Last night, m-my little brother snuck in, and he never returned.

Alana's eyes well up with tears and her face becomes flushed. Bryce rises from his chair. He leaves payment for his unfinished meal upon the table and heads for the door.

Right as he leaves, he cocks his head to say, "Do not worry, the beast will meet its end soon."

Bryce heads out of the bar to walk across the street to the crowd that had gathered outside the church. People continue to celebrate and praise Théoden for coming to the town in order to slay the dark beast. Approaching the crowd, he sees that Théoden at the center, receiving gracious gifts from the town; gold, jewels, and fine food are some of the gifts he has received thus far. Bryce pushes through the crowd to reach Théoden, who is very much enjoying all of this attention.

"What are you doing here?" Bryce demands as he finally fights through the crowd to the open circle. "Shouldn't you be at the castle now, destroying the "evil spirit"?"

The major of the town quickly defends the priest, saying, "Father Theoden shall rest today and fight the spirit tonight."

Bryce with a puzzled expression asks, "Wouldn't it be wiser for him to act now, while it is still light?"

"Who are you to question Father Theoden?" A woman in the crowd demands.

Bryce realizes that these people will not bother to listen to his reasoning. Instead, Bryce says, "Then, Father Theoden, at your word, I would like to venture in the castle with you."

There is a murmur of voices amongst the citizens; unsure whether to trust this mysterious man who has shown up out of the blue. Theoden, who had the pleasure of speaking with Bryce earlier, knows somewhat of Bryce's intentions.

"Very well young man," Theoden says to hush the crowd. "But may I ask of you your name?"

"Bryce Hawthorne," Bryce says loud enough for the whole crowd to hear.

"Well then, Bryce," the priest says with a smile, "We shall rest up for tonight in order to repel the evil spirits that lurk in the castle."

Father Theoden disperses the crowd and walks toward the church. As Bryce follows, he places his hand upon the white, picket fence that borders the church. Bryce quickly pulls his hand away from the fence and backs away from the church.

"Something wrong?" Theoden asks.

Bryce answers, "No. I think I'm going to wait out here until dusk. Not a big fan of churches."

"Very well then," Father Theoden says, before entering the church alone.

Dusk comes quickly and the two of them set out for the castle. They walk together in silence as the crowd of townsfolk follow behind. The trek is long and the sun sets before they have a chance to reach the castle.

Now, under the starry sky, they stand at the gates of the castle. The townsfolk quickly back away as they enter the gate.

The foyer inside the castle is rundown with broken stone columns that have worn down over the years. Two long corridors stand on either side of them. Without consulting Theoden, Bryce heads towards the corridor on the left.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Theoden says with slight panic in his voice.

"We'll never find this thing unless we split up," Bryce answers.

But before Theoden can object, Bryce is lost in the darkness. Theoden walks shakily to the right corridor. He steps cautiously with a torch in hand through the corridor, turning over his shoulder every so often to make sure nothing is behind him. Reaching the end of the corridor, he sees something unusual laying upon the ground; he rushes over to check what it is. He drops the torch on the ground, it rolls to the side with its flame dying from the moist stone, as he gazes upon the pale white corpses of the two boys that attempted to flee the castle the night before. Their eyes are filled with terror, while dry blood stains their necks and chests.

"Heavenly Father," Theoden says, gripping his cross, "What monstrosity is responsible for this?"

Behind him, in the darkness, comes a light cackling along with soft footsteps. Theoden whips around to see menacing red eyes glowing through the darkness. Though the flame is weak, Theoden can see the face of the beast that lurks this castle, the vampire. In that instant, Theoden's mind goes blank; he cannot remember the teachings he received on dealing with beings of Satan; he helplessly raises his cross out, trying to protect himself. The vampire mocks his attempt with demonic laughter. The priest shuts his eyes tightly in fright; only hearing a sickening hissing sound as the vampire opens his mouth, unsheathing his fangs. Then comes another noise. Its feint, but it is like the cracking sound of a whip.

Suddenly, Theoden hears a shrill cry coming from the vampire and then a thud. He opens his eyes to see the vampire lying at his feet. Footsteps move quickly in the veil of shadows as Bryce emerges before Theoden. Gripped in Bryce's hand is a flintlock pistol with smoke still pouring out of the barrel.

"Good thing I came along," Bryce smirks while reloading his pistol.

Theoden, taking a minute for his heart to slow down, finally says, "How did you find him?"

"I told you the reason I came here for," Bryce says, grabbing the priest away from the vampire, "Hunting."

Bryce takes another shot as the vampire dodges at the last second. The vampire gets to his feet quickly to prepare to strike. Blood leaks down his shoulder where the first bullet hat penetrated.

"That wasn't an ordinary bullet," the vampire growls, "You must be a Vampire Hunter."

Bryce, throwing the priest behind him, states, "Ferdinand, lord of this castle two hundred years ago. You were turned into a vampire and have been devouring anyone who trespassed in your castle. I've been sent here to hunt you down."

Ferdinand smirks, as he says, "Very admirable of you, Vampire Hunter, but you won't kill me so easily."

Vampire Ferdinand rushes toward them. The vampiric curse had increased his speed and strength beyond that of an ordinary human. To Bryce, Ferdinand is nothing more than a blur, as all he sees is the vampire's claws dig into his chest, before Bryce is hurled through the wall leading to the outside. With the moonlight raining down through the hole in the wall, Theoden can see the beast clearly. Ferdinand's claws are drenched in Bryce's blood from that single strike; his pale face allows his blood red eyes to fearsomely stand out. Ferdinand is enjoying toying with Bryce far too much to pay any attention to the petrified priest.

With fangs bared for attack, Ferdinand leaps out through the hole after Bryce. Bryce rolls out of the way as Ferdinand's claws dig into the dirt. Leaping to his feet, he reaches into his pocket and draws a vial filled with red liquid; a needle is attached to the vile to allow the fluid to be injected. Before Ferdinand can attack again, Bryce jams the needle into his leg to allow the red liquid to flow into this blood stream.

Ferdinand readies his claws for a second strike; he accelerates toward Bryce to sink his fangs into the hunter's neck. Just before Ferdinand's claws are an inch away from, Bryce vanishes before Ferdinand's eye. He then feels a powerful force pushing against the back of his torso. Ferdinand tumbles to the ground as he crashes into a tree. He gets up slowly, with several ribs cracked from the blow.

"T-that speed," Ferdinand questions with blood leaking from his mouth. "That strength. It is like I am fighting a vampire."

Looking over, Bryce's eyes glow an eerie red similar to that of Ferdinand's, and yet there is something much more ominous in his gaze that even sends a chill down Ferdinand's spine. Bryce vanishes like a spirit, to only reappear with his hand around Ferdinand's throat. Ferdinand is utterly bewildered that this human is capable of this. As the grip around his throat is tightened, he notices the blood staining Bryce's leg.

"That scent," Ferdinand chokes, "It is the blood of a vampire. Y-you have injected yourself in order to gain the power of our kind. I think that hatred hunters have for us is merely envy. You are envious of our might so you seek out to become us."

Hearing these words, Bryce glares angrily at Ferdinand. Without saying a word, he slams his hand, which has now morphed into a claw, into Ferdinand's chest; gripping the beast's heart. Ferdinand jerks as his own beating heart struggles to pump the life giving elixir throughout his body.

"I admit it that you monsters are strong," Bryce growls through gritted teeth, "But I will never be like you! I use this power in order to destroy you monsters. Now die!"

Bryce squeezes down harder on the heart, restricting the blood flow. Ferdinand begins dying before Bryce's eyes. Instead of struggling to live, Ferdinand merely smiles as he accepts death.

With his last breath, he forewarns, "I can see it in your eyes, you are becoming more vampire-like each and every day. It won't be long before you join our side. I look forward to watch your downfall from the pits of hell." He laughs mockingly as his heart stops. The curse drags Ferdinand's soul to the pits of hell along with it. With the body free of the living dead spell placed upon it, the corpse ages into dust in Bryce's arms. Bryce backs away, shaking the dust off of his claw.

Then, Bryce feels a painful pulse surge throughout his body. It is the side effect of absorbing vampire blood into his system. Bryce is overcome with an unquenchable blood lust that is too painful to ignore. He falls to the ground, punching his fist into the dirt.

"No," Bryce says to himself, his claws digging into the ground, "I will not succumb to this. I will not become one of them!"

Bryce draws from his pocket, a dagger soaked in a chemical poisonous to vampires. Fighting through the blood lust, he slams the blade into his own side. His body feels like it is on fire as the poison eradicates the curse circulating in his blood. Finally, the vampire blood is gone and the lust has dispersed.

As he rises back to his feet, Father Theoden rushes over to check up on him.

"Bryce, Bryce," the father shouts, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Bryce says calmly, "I'm fine. Well, I have taken care of the vampire here."

Bryce goes to walk away, but Theoden shouts after, "Wait where are you going?"

"I've done my job," Bryce calls back, "No reason to stay here."

Bryce leaves the priest to take all the glory for himself. For him, there is no prize to be won, not until he rids this world of all vampires.


End file.
